DNA vaccine provides long-term protection.(cytomegalovirus)(Brief Article)

2002 MAY 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that an enhanced DNA vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV) offers long-term protection from viral proliferation.

"We previously demonstrated that immunization of mice with plasmid DNAs (pDNAs) expressing the murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) genes IE1-pp89 and M84 provided synergistic protection against sublethal viral challenge, while immunization with plasmids expressing putative virion proteins provided no or inconsistent protection," explained Dr. Christopher Morello and colleagues at the University of California-San Diego in La Jolla, California.

A similar vaccine augmented with additional gene-expressing plasmids and inactivated viruses provided longer and more extensive protection, Morello and coauthors reported.

The researchers found that the MCMV gene m04, which codes for the gp34 glycoprotein, induced robust splenic anti-CMV immune responses in mice. Moreover, a group of 10 genes protected mice against moderate CMV challenge, despite having no such effect when administered individually, they said.

A vaccine consisting of plasmids expressing these 11 genes in addition to pp89 and M84 DNA provided strong protection to animals. The performance of this vaccine was further enhanced by the administration of ...